Siegfried Schtauffen

Siegfried Schtauffen was the main protagonist character in the Soul series and the most central character of the series until Soulcalibur V. Along with Mitsurugi, he is one of a few characters that has been included in every game in the series since Soul Edge, appearing in Soulcalibur and Soulcalibur II as the story's main villain, as well as appearing in Soulcalibur III and Soulcalibur IV as the main hero. In Soulcalibur II, he is an unlockable costume for his temporary alter-ego, Nightmare. The non-canon spin-off title Soulcalibur Legends was released in 2007 with Siegfried being the central character, and he has returned in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Siegfried's latest appearance is in Soulcalibur V and he also will be playable in the PS3 exclusive Soulcalibur: Lost Swords, as He who fights the past.

Soul Blade (Soul Edge)
During the late sixteenth century, the oppressed peasants of Germany were revolting against the Holy Roman Empire. With its forces weakened by the Italian Wars, the German peasants finally had a fighting chance. One of the champions of the people, a brave knight named Frederick, met and fell in love with a woman named Margaret while on campaign; and they spent the night together. When Frederick returned after nine months of battle, he rejoined Margaret, having given birth to a son, whom he named Siegfried, after the famous hero. Over the course of the next ten to fifteen years, Frederick spent a lot of his time teaching his son swordsmanship.

Embarking on a foreign crusade, Frederick promised Margaret that he would return; unfortunately, without his father's guidance, Siegfried began to socialize with an edgy clan of teenagers, and he soon became the leader of their band of thieves known as "Schwarzwind," meaning "black wind." In a misguided act of national pride, the band devised a plan to attack the knights who ran away from the crusades, as they were bound to carry valuable possessions, and were too cowardly to deserve respect in any case. That night, the "Schwarzwind" ambushed a group of war-weary soldiers, too tired to retaliate. Siegfried even managed to kill the commander himself; but as he held the commander's severed head in triumph, the moonlight shone on its face, and Siegfried screamed as he realized he held the head of his own father. In mere seconds, Siegfried's mind had broken upon which point he ran straight into the forest, becoming more and more insane as he ruminated over his previous acts, until he came to a point at which he psychologically convinced himself that his father's murderer was actually someone other than himself. Hearing rumors of the invincible Soul Edge, Siegfried came to believe his father's killer could only be killed with said weapon.

He traveled first to Ostrheinsburg Castle, the refuge of the noble Sir Stefan, who he believed to be the possessor of the Soul Edge; and he joined in its forces as a Landsknecht, rising in its ranks with the hopes of acquiring Stefan's self-proclaimed legendary blade. During a siege on the castle, Siegfried saw an opportunity to take Sir Stefan's prized possession, the sword Grimblade, and killed him, running off with it into the Black Woods nearby the castle; but the sword held no power. Frustrated, he continued to search for weeks for the Soul Edge, growing increasingly more insane for its power as time passed. He finally managed to come across the legendary weapon Soul Edge, lying beside the defeated corpse of the dead pirate, Cervantes de Leon. But as he reached for it, the corpse lit up in a hellish blaze of fire and attacked him. Siegfried raised his zweihänder and defeated the fiery Inferno, breaking his sword in the process, earning the right to wield the Soul Edge for himself.

At the precise moment that Siegfried obtained the cursed blade, the Evil Seed emanated from him in a beam of light that rained across the entire world, leading only to death and destruction. At that moment Siegfried heard the voice of the wicked sword, who arranged a deal with him: Siegfried would help the blade to restore itself by gathering souls, and Soul Edge would resurrect his father Frederick. Siegfried accepted and carried the blade into many slaughters, until he finally succumbed to the sword's restored powers, transforming him into the Azure Knight,

Soulcalibur
During the following three years he gathered together a group of followers: the golem Astaroth, the lizard man Aeon Calcos, and the alchemist Ivy. Each of them aided him in Soul Edge's quest to devour souls for a rejuvenation ceremony to be performed in his chosen stronghold, Ostrheinsburg Castle. But as the ceremony was about to take place, the clan was quickly laid to waste. Both Aeon Calcos and Astaroth were defeated; and Ivy left the clan after learning the shocking truth of her horrifying past from the Fu-Ma ninja, Taki. Two young warriors confronted Nightmare after slaying many golems: Kilik, owner of both the sacred staff Kali-Yuga and sacred mirror Dvapara-Yuga; and Xianghua, owner of Krita-Yuga, which revealed herself as Soul Calibur.

The battle between the swordsmen took place in a vortex of hellfire and evil energy summoned by Soul Edge. After a raging battle, the evil sword shattered, and Nightmare and Soul Edge fell into the collapsing void. With Soul Edge severely weakened, Siegfried regained some of his humanity. Along with lucidity came the horrifying memories of the sins he committed, as well as the fear and anger of those who were slaughtered by him. Moreover, he realized that he had been the one who murdered his father, and that his "resurrection" was only an illusion brought by his mind.

Expelled from the void into an unfamiliar place, Siegfried disappeared into the night-the evil sword still in his grip. But Soul Edge was weaker now, and splinters of itself were left in Siegfried's footsteps. Siegfried meditated on all he had done and eventually learned to accept responsibility for his sin. He planned to return to his mother, who had no knowledge of anything that occurred during or after that night three years ago; but just as he was about to knock on the door, he could hear his mother praying, and concluded that if he was to be successful in his new resolve, he must distance himself from society so that he never kills again. He could not see his mother until he was fully redeemed; but he knew he was not yet atoned for, for every time he awoke from a night's rest, he found his new zweihänder Requiem covered in blood, and he was surrounded by the corpses of victims he had presumably murdered in his sleep.

Soulcalibur II
Siegfried was aware that although he had regained his sanity and learned to accept his past sins from three years ago, he was not yet fully redeemed. He knew that Soul Edge still held power over him, but now it used its strength in his sleep, and no matter how hard he tried not to fall asleep again, he would always eventually give in, and the darkness would continue to operate at night in his subconscious. He tried to forsake civilization as far as he could go, so that no person could be corrupted by the dark energy of the Soul Edge, but to no avail.

Four years passed, and he had eventually assumed the azure armor for a second time, becoming Nightmare all over again, desperately pursuing fragments of the Soul Edge that he might fully restore it. As Nightmare plundered powerful souls and recovered shattered fragments of the sword, the cracks in Soul Edge healed one by one. His goal of reviving the evil sword edged toward completion. After some time, the Azure Knight returned to his old stronghold, Ostrheinsburg, as its bloodied land was a fitting stage for the restoration of the evil sword's true power.

In the ruins of the chapel, a lone fencer, Raphael Sorel appeared in search of Soul Edge. The two of them faced off, but at the end of the fierce battle, Nightmare stood victorious. As he stepped forward to finish Raphael off, he muttered something incoherently.

Deep within Nightmare's eyes a faint light dwelled. It was the will of Siegfried. As he struggled to free his mind from the influence of evil, the spirit of the sword sneered at him. The two held a formless fight, as Siegfried struggled to take his body back while Inferno mocked him and his father. (Sometime during this, Raphael made a desperate last strike and damaged Soul Edge, a contributing factor to Siegfried's final escape.)

Soulcalibur III
The battle raging deep within his mind caused the Azure Knight to stand motionless. Beside him, the wounded body of Raphael trembled. Only Raphael's great will enabled his gravely injured body to move. Drawing on his last strength, Raphael unleashed a desperate final blow upon his enemy. The strike pierced the center of Soul Edge. Nightmare let out an inhuman cry. Inside him, the crazed, wounded mind of the evil sword clawed at his consciousness. Siegfried stood with an iron will against the raging storm, and finally restored control. He who had been lost to the cursed sword for so long had reclaimed his body as his own. In response to the rapidly weakening evil, light poured out like the coming of the dawn...

When it was all over, Siegfried thought back in a daze over what he had done. As he looked around, he sighted a sword that appeared along with the light. As if guided by something, he took the sword in his hand and drove it into the evil eye that was the core of Soul Edge. That sword was the holy sword Soul Calibur, which had been trapped by the power of the evil sword.

The blow, however, was not enough to destroy the evil sword. The evil energy of Soul Edge had quieted, but the holy sword, still piercing cursed sword, had gone silent, as if it too, had lost its power.

"This isn't enough..." Forcing his exhausted mind into motion, as he began to think. He threw off his detestable armor and smashed it into pieces. Then, picking up both swords, he left that cursed land. "I will seal away Soul Edge for all eternity and atone for my sins. This I swear!" His bloody fate would not release him so easily, however. From time to time, the feeling of that grotesque arm rose from the depths of his memory. The residue of the nightmare tormented him. Those seeking revenge on Nightmare would occasionally appear in his path. Each time he was forced to fight them, his mind was wracked with guilt. Moreover, Siegfried did not realize that another dark omen was on the horizon. Indeed, there was no way for him to know that the azure knight would soon be revived and a man who wanted to end an ever-lasting curse wanted the two swords in order to do it.

Eventually, Siegfried and the resurrected Azure Knight would meet again at Lost Cathedral. Zasalamel used his dark arts to break Soul Embrace and both the Spirit Sword and the Cursed Sword were freed. Both Siegfried and Nightmare took their respective swords and clashed one more time, causing an explosion that destroyed the entire cathedral and nearly destroyed them both...

Soulcalibur IV
Someone was calling him, but he could not clearly hear it. He strained to see, but could see nothing. Then the voice came again, and this time he could hear every word. "So you would forsake our friendship?" "Yes. No one will ever again be a part of my life. Every man or woman who has known me has ultimately fallen to death's touch. So go. Leave me. Forget you ever knew me."

The voice that had replied was his own. He began to lose his consciousness, his focus wavered, and then another voice came to him from behind.

"I have seen what you have done. Now you devote your life to atoning for your sins and redeeming your soul. Are you not as much a victim of that sword as the others?"

"No, no! No matter what beguiling words you whisper, my sins cannot be forgiven. I-I slew my father with my own bloodied hands. No cursed sword forced me to do that!"

As Siegfried spoke his answer, the man who questioned him faded from his vision, to be replaced once more by the memories of that night. The wind blew the clouds from the face of the moon, and suddenly the head that he held triumphantly aloft was brilliantly revealed. He saw the face, and there was no denying the truth. It was his father. His heart was in agony as if it had been pierced by a white-hot blade.

Siegfried jerked upright, as if yanked by a puppeteer's string. The full moon bathed his face in light. It had been a dream. He was alone.

He pressed his hand against the armor that covered his heart. A terrible scar marked him there. The maelstrom of power unleashed by Soul Calibur and Soul Edge clashed at the Lost Cathedral had torn his body apart. His long quest to destroy the cursed sword had been so nearly completed; redemption had been within his grasp, yet, in that moment, he had died, the scream of frustration at his failure silenced on his lips. Perhaps the spirit sword responded to that outpouring of emotion, for the sword whose destiny it was to destroy the cursed sword resonated with Siegfried's soul. It chose Siegfried for its master, and doing so saved his life.

Siegfried thought again of the dream he had just seen. He thought of the people who had once stood by him and the people he had left despite knowing that Siegfried was none other than Nightmare.

Bathed in the moonlight, Siegfried looked up into the night sky. He knew now what he must do. He would brush aside the outstretched hands that tried to help him. Once, not so long ago, he had stood at the center of the terror that Nightmare wrought. The enemy he now faced was the cursed devourer of souls, Soul Edge. Awaiting him was the maelstrom of destruction unleashed at the cathedral.

Soul Calibur shone with a cold light in his hand. Siegfried made up his mind to become like the sword. No one would touch his heart, no man or woman would sway him from his path, until the cursed sword was destroyed for all time. Images of his brothers-in-arms, comrades, even friends that might have been - and, of course, his father - flashed one by one through his mind. He was alone, and he had no choice but to be alone, for he would never again hurt those he loved.

Siegfried turned his gaze away from the heavens. Before him a black shadow lay heavy over the cursed city of Ostrheinsburg. His journey was coming to an end.

Soulcalibur V
Siegfried had played host to Soul Calibur and, ultimately, destroyed Soul Edge. After that epic battle, the knight returned home and enjoyed a brief period of peace. But deep down he knew his work was not over; the cursed sword's minions—the malfested—remained a serious threat. Realizing he couldn't stop them alone, Siegfried gathered his staunchest allies from his old clan known as Schwarzwind, he reformed the clan of thieves into a clan of mercenaries.

One day, after more than a decade of service protecting humanity from the malfested, Siegfried discovered that Soul Calibur had transformed into a new one-handed sword—a clear harbinger of Soul Edge's return. A new champion to wield Soul Calibur would need to be found; Siegfried assigned the task to Z.W.E.I., a wandering swordsman who had joined his mercenary group. "So... The time has come..."

Soul Calibur, like Soul Edge, possessed dangerous power. Siegfried quietly awaited the one who would be worthy to wield it...

Trivia

 * In Soulcalibur V, Siegfried's alternate costume seems to be a casual oufit, *Siegfried likely uses it when he is at his home or when he goes out for a hunt.
 * Siegfried is one of the few characters who has aged physically throughout the series.
 * It is possible that Siegfried got his scar on his right eye, when he was fighting against inferno in Soul Edge.
 * In Soul Blade(Soul Edge), Siegfried had a secret costume entitled "Siegfried!", which made him appear as an early version of Nightmare in red armor. Originally, the developers of that game had considered using the alternate costumes as separate characters, but the idea was scrapped. Ironically, Siegfried is later made the 3rd costume of Nightmare in Soulcalibur II.
 * One of Siegfried's Extra Weapons is the Glam (mistranslation of Gram), the weapon of the hero, Sigurd, from Norse mythology used to kill the dragon Fafnir. Fittingly, in Soulcalibur Legends, Siegfried fights a dragon named Fafnir. Siegfried is also the German name for Sigurd.
 * In Soulcalibur III, Siegfried's weapons and fighting style are available under the discipline Soul of Siegfried to characters created under the Knight class.
 * In Tales of Souls, near the end of any character's path, Siegfried will face off against Nightmare, and the winner will face the player's character next. This of course excludes himself and Nightmare, as these two will battle if Siegfried or Nightmare manage to avoid being trapped in the cage. Or else, they will fight Zasalamel
 * In Soulcalibur III, what appears to be a body suit beneath Siegfried's armor bears a coloration discontinuity; in the opening movie and concept art, the suit is depicted to be bright green, but in all other aspects of the game, it appears to be black in color. Also, one of his concept art slides depicts him wearing a helmet shaped like an eagle's head and a suit of armor with feather designs on it, similar to the armor he currently wears.
 * Siegfried's nickname in Soul Edge is Innocent Darkside, in Soulcalibur, it's A Soul in Purgatory, and in Soulcalibur IV, it's A Glint of Conviction.
 * Siegfried's Destined Battle in Soulcalibur is Mitsurugi or Arthur, and in Soulcalibur II and Soulcalibur III his Destined Battle is Raphael. Also, Siegfried is the Destined Battle of Custom Characters with a 'Lightning' alignment (in Quick Play). His final battle in Soulcalibur IV is Nightmare.
 * In his Soulcalibur III 2P costume, he has short hair, like he has in Soul Blade. The haircut seems to be layered. This hairstyle returns for his Soulcalibur IV 2P costume.
 * In his 2P costume in Soulcalibur IV, he wields the same looking Soul Calibur from Soulcalibur III, except this version seems to have a darker shade of blue.
 * Siegfried's ending in Soulcalibur IV brings ambiguity over his good intentions because it is a source of controversy over whether he simply brought peace to the world, making it a utopia; or if he crystallized everything, ending the world. *Also, fans debate the exact meaning of Siegfried's line "our kind should not exist in this world. Not ever again" if he meant humanity in general, or those with connections with Soul Edge in some way or another.
 * Siegfried dies in almost every ending that he appears in Soulcalibur IV, including his own: he gets crystallized or killed by Nightmare. The only exception from this is Hilde's ending, where she knights him forgiven of his sins when he asks her to kill him, stating that true warriors think not of themselves but of others, also noting that he had sacrificed everything to atone for his sins.
 * In his first stage of his Story Mode in Soulcalibur IV, Siegfried fights his father, Frederick, who is actually an illusion created by Zasalamel.
 * In the opening movie of Soulcalibur III, the way Siegfried pierces Soul Edge's eye with Soul Calibur is similar to what Cassandra does in her Soulcalibur IV ending.
 * In all the games, Siegfried seems to be left-handed, but in some cutscenes (like Soucalibur III's Intro), and especially in most Soulcalibur V media he holds his sword with the right hand. Also, while he is fighting, he switches his hands while using several attacks and stances. So it can be assumed that he is ambidextrous. In Soul Blade(Soul Edge) however, he is seen to be only left handed.
 * His fate looks almost similar to the fate of one of main World of Warcraft characters - prince Arthas Menethil: both of them wanted to get the powerful enchanted sword (Soul Edge/Frostmourne) to accomplish their revenge/desires, both of them were possessed by their weapon, both transformed into canonical Dark Knights. One notable fact between them is that Arthas murdered his own father in cold blood, on contrary of Siegfried, who murdered his father accidentally. Their personalities are different because Arthas was evil and ambitious and he allowed himself to be possessed by Frostmourne. Siegfried is good, he did not want to be possessed by Soul Edge, and seeks redemption for murdering his father and the people he killed (when he was Nightmare). Their appearances are similar to a degree, before Arthas's hair turned from blonde to white and his skin became paler.
 * In Soulcalibur, when the announcer says Siegfried's name, he pronounces it in the proper German tone, with the "s" sounding like a "z" and the "d" sounding like a "t". For the rest of the series, the announcer says it phonetically.
 * In both Koei's War Game Series, Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, Guan Ping, Ma Chao and Shima Sakon are very similar to Siegfried.
 * In Soulcalibur IV, Siegfried seems to be associated with ice, as it appears during his Critical Finish, and his introduction sequence. This is in contrast to Nightmare, who is associated with fire. This is a reference to Veigue Lungberg from Tales of Rebirth, another of Namco's game's protagonist with ice powers who similarly use greatswords and is voiced by Hiyama Nobuyuki. Veigue himself wields Seigfried's Requiem when he appears as a cameo boss battle in Tales of Graces.
 * If the Google Translation of "Soul Archive" is accurate; Namco intended for Siegfried's Soul Edge weapon to be called Requiem, and not Faust. Requiem was later used for Soulcalibur.
 * From Soulcalibur until present times, Siegfried's personality changes, much like Jin Kazama from the Tekken series. Both characters have an intention to atone for their sins and to the end something evil (Soul Edge's treachery by Siegfried and Mishima Bloodlines by Jin). Another Tekken character, Lars Alexanderson is based on Siegfried due to having a same scar on their eyebrow (Siegfried is right side and Lars is left side), also both he and Jin are having a somewhat heroic attitude in their series.
 * Siegfried's Soulcalibur V render was redone and now has the lighting changed, which makes his face look different. Also, the pixels on his sword have been smoothed out visibly.
 * Siegfried's previous English voice actor, Crispin Freeman, is known for voicing Itachi Uchiha from the Naruto series, Tsume from Wolf's Rain, Alucard from Hellsing, Bruce Irving from TEKKEN, and Rude from Final Fantasy VII. Siegfried's current English voice actor, Roger Craig Smith, also voices Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Assassin's Creed, who is coincidentally a guest character in Soulcalibur V, as well as Chris Redfield from Resident Evil, Deidara from the Naruto series, Eddy Gordo from TEKKEN and Sonic from Sonic the Hedgehog.
 * Even though he no longer wields Soul Calibur in Soulcalibur V, the sword's power fragments still exist inside him. This can be seen in his Critical Edge, which consists of crystal spikes being ejected from the ground.
 * In Soulcalibur V, Siegfried has a bonus costume that is the same as his 1P costume in Soulcalibur IV. However, only the computer can use it and only in Legendary Souls mode and quick match mode.
 * In Soulcalibur II, Nightmare's bonus costume is a combination of Siegfried's Soulcalibur 1P costume, & his Soul Edge 1P costume.
 * Siegfried is the only character who uses Soul Calibur but with different designs, specifically in Soulcalibur II (as Nightmare), Soulcalibur III, and Soulcalibur IV.
 * Siegfried's quote from Soulcalibur V, "No need for words, I speak with this." references Wang from the Tekken series saying to certain characters, "Save your words, speak with your fists." in Tekken 6.
 * Siegfried is one of only three characters to have actually aged from Soulcalibur V's time skip. The others are Mitsurugi and Hilde.
 * It is interesting to note that his weapon "Glam" in SCIV differs from its "counterpart" - "Gram" - in SCBD. Since SCBD is a PSP formatted version of the game, it is unknown why the weapon was changed.
 * Siegfried's Soul Calibur V artwork is used as a blackened silhouette in the PlayStation 3 trophy 'Footsteps of Soldiers' while the feminine counterpart resembles no character whatsoever, though it resembles Hilde's victory (and character creation) pose.
 * Siegfried and Mitsurugi were the first two characters announced for Soulcalibur: Lost Swords. He was also one of the first four characters announced for Soulcalibur V.